What the 2024 CFA Curriculum Updates Mean for You

The new 2024 CFA curriculum has been released for Levels I and III. This article will summarize all of the important changes to the curriculum and how it affects your preparation.

This was a significant update in many areas in Level I. The Quantitative Methods, Economics, and Financial Statement Analysis sections were each split between pre-readings and regular readings. The pre-reading material will not directly be tested on the Level I exam, but is assumed knowledge required for more advanced material. Several readings were removed while others are new.

Level III updates were relatively small, and Level II is not yet available for view. Several errors were apparent in the new curricula from the CFA Institute in terms of editing, leading to judgment calls about what to retain in our system. There are no changes to the Topic Area Weights across all three levels.

Updates to the Level I Curriculum

The 2024 CFA curriculum retained the numbering system from 2023, using Learning Module numbers by topic area, and we added numbers at the start to keep the subject areas in curriculum order. For example, you'll see 1 QM 1 through 1 QM 11 as the first readings in the Quantitative Methods area, through the Ethics readings at the end, which are 12 Eth 1 through 12 Eth 5. A full listing of these numberings, specific changes, and notes that we made while updating our materials will be available here once the updates are complete (ETA end of August, 2023).

New Readings

The following new readings were added or the result of splits for 2024:

  • All pre-reading content has been separated from the main course. The only exceptions are a few concepts here and there that were duplicated between the pre-reading content and the main course. That content is maintained in the main course only. This is the case for all QM, Econ, and FSA readings.

  • 1 QM 2, “The Time Value of Money in Finance” is new (although the concepts are fairly redundant with the pre-reading TVM lessons).

  • 6 FSA 4, “Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling” is new

  • 7 EI 5, “Company Analysis: Past and Present” is mostly new. It included some pieces from 6 CI 3 and 7 EI 5 from the prior year.

Updates to Existing Readings

There were massive updates to several readings for the 2024 curriculum. Major changes were made in the following:

  • 1 QM 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 11 were all renamed and included significant changes, as material was carved out for pre-readings. Many existing lessons were retained with edits.

  • 2 EC 1-8, or all Economics readings, were renamed and included significant changes, as material was carved out for pre-readings. Many existing lessons were retained with edits.

  • 4 CI 1-7, or all Corporate Issuers readings, were renamed and included significant changes, as material was carved out for pre-readings. Many existing lessons were retained with edits.

  • 5 FSA 1-8 and 6 FSA 1-3, or all Financial Statement Analysis readings, were heavily edited as material was carved out for pre-readings. Most material that remained in these readings was unchanged from the prior year.

  • 7 EI 6, “Industry and Competitive Analysis,” was subject to a significant rewriting. Some concepts were retained from the prior year's 7 EI 5.

  • 7 EI 7, “Company Analysis: Forecasting,” was subject to a significant rewriting. Some concepts were retained from the prior year's 7 EI 5.

  • 8 FI 1-19, or all Fixed Income readings, arise from a major reworking of the material in the six Fixed Income readings from the prior year. Most material was retained, but just split to turn those six readings into 19 smaller readings.

  • 10 AI 1-7 are the Alternative Investments readings, and these 7 also come from the prior year's three readings, which were 11 AI 1-3, each of which underwent a major split and addition.

Deleted Learning Readings

  • The prior year's 6 CI 1, “Cost of Capital - Foundations” was deleted, but some material was really merged into 2024's 4 CI 6, “Introduction to Financial Statement Modeling.” Most of this material has surprisingly disappeared.

  • The prior year's 6 CI 3, “Measures of Leverage” was deleted, although at least the DOL, DFL, and DTL concepts were moved to 7 EI 5, the new reading “Company Analysis: Past and Present.”

  • The prior year's 13 PM 4, “Technical Analysis” was finally deleted in its entirety.

Updates to the Level II Curriculum

The 2024 CFA curriculum for Level II will be released soon, and a full listing of changes will be available shortly thereafter. A full listing of these numberings, specific changes, and notes that I made while updating our materials will be available here once the updates are complete (ETA end of November, 2023).

Updates to the Level III Curriculum

The 2024 CFA curriculum switched to the Learning Module numbering system that was used for Levels I and II last year. For example, the first reading entitled “Capital Market Expectations, Part 1: Framework and Macro Considerations” was Reading 3 last year, and is now 1 PM 1 to represent the first part of the curriculum, Portfolio Management, Learning Module 1. A full listing of these numberings, specific changes, and notes made while updating our materials will be available here once the updates are complete (ETA end of September, 2023).

New Readings

There were no new readings added in 2024.

Updates to Existing Readings

There were minor changes to several readings for the 2024 curriculum. Major changes were made in the following:

  • 2 PM 3, “Currency Management: An Introduction,” which was Reading 10 last year, has significant changes.

  • 4 PM 3, “Overview of Private Wealth Management,” which was Reading 21 last year, has significant changes.

Deleted Readings

  • The prior year's Reading 1, “The Behavioral Biases of Individuals” was deleted.

  • The prior year's Reading 2, “Behavioral Finance and Investment Processes” was deleted.

Summary

Candidates that have prepared using the 2023 curriculum will have a great head start in preparing for the 2024 exam, but Level I candidates would do well to explore our updated curriculum fully, with these changes in mind. As always, feel free to reach out to the Bloomberg Exam Prep team for any questions and help.

Happy studying!

About the Author

Dr. Aaron Johnson is the Academic Director of CFA Programs at Bloomberg Exam Prep. He teaches courses in economics, finance, and mathematics at universities in the U.S. and Europe, at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Aaron earned his Ph.D. and M.A. in Economics at the Walton College of Business, served as an MBA program director, and as a non-profit finance director. His research interests are focused in development economics, specifically micro-lending and poverty alleviation efforts, with working papers also in ODA and family economics.

Dr. Aaron Johnson, CFA